Air traffic control (ATC) centers are used at most airports to coordinate take-offs, landings, and general aircraft traffic around the airport. Traditionally, a pilot uses a radio to speak to an ATC center to request permission or to receive instructions from the ATC center. With increasing air traffic, it has become difficult for ATC centers and pilots to process all of the oral communications with aircraft without error. Consequently, data link applications have been developed to provide textual communications between pilots and air traffic controllers.
One of these data link applications, called Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC), provides for the direct exchange of text-based messages between a controller and a pilot. The CPDLC application enables the pilot to communicate electronically with an ATC center by guiding the pilot through a series of screen configurations or displays that either elicit flight information from the pilot or notify the pilot regarding flight information, including requesting and receiving ATC clearances. The CPDLC application may be part of a larger flight information/control program or may serve as a stand-alone program.
To have electronic message communication through CPDLC and context management (CM), the pilot must first enter an ATC center name that is confirmed by an avionics computer. In current CPDLC systems, avionics systems such as a Communication Management Unit (CMU) or a Flight Management Computer (FMC) include interfaces configured to allow pilots and/or flight crews to select or confirm the entry of the desired ATC center from the list of available ATC centers. In some embodiments, a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) used for selecting an ATC center that is common to many aircraft avionics is the Multifunction Control Display Unit (MCDU). In some current applications, the pilot and/or flight crew is required to scroll through the list of available ATC centers to find and select the desired ATC center. In some current applications, the ATC centers are listed in the order in which they are stored in a database. The list of ATC centers in the world is over 100 now. The list of ATC centers that are available, however, may change over time.